“The FBI merely provided an opportunity for these individuals to do what they did. And in fact this was Ambrosio Medrano’s idea from the very beginning to hatch this plan,” said Stettler.

Jurors deliberated for about four or five hours before returning with their decision. Two businessmen tried with him were also convicted.

Medrano’s conviction carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Former Alderman Medrano Convicted In Bribery Case

The case isn’t Medrano’s first run-in with the law. He spent nearly two years in prison after pleading guilty in 1996 in a federal investigation into payoffs to aldermen and other Chicago-area politicians.